Zoé Oldenbourg
Encyclopedia
Zoé Oldenbourg (March 31, 1916–November 8, 2002) was a Russia
n-born French
historian and novelist who specialized in mediæval
French history
, in particular the Crusades
and Cathars.
, Russia
into a family of scholars and historians. Her father Sergei was a journalist and historian, her mother Ada Starynkevich was a mathematician, and her grandfather Sergei
was the permanent secretary of the Russian Academy of Sciences
in Saint Petersburg. Her early childhood was spent among the privations of the Russian revolutionary period
and the first years of Communism
. Her father fled the country and established himself as a journalist in Paris
.
With her family, she emigrated to Paris in 1925 at the age of nine and graduated from the Lycée Molière in 1934 with her Baccalauréat
diploma. She went on to study at the Sorbonne
and then she studied painting at the Académie Ranson
. In 1938 she spent a year in England and studied theology. During World War II
she supported herself by hand-painting scarves.
She was encouraged by her father to write and she completed her first work, a novel, Argiles et cendres in 1946. Although she wrote her first works in Russian, as an adult she wrote almost exclusively in French.
She married Heinric Idalovici in 1948 and had two children, Olaf and Marie-Agathe.
and was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection in America. Other works include The Awakened, The Chains of Love, Massacre at Montsegur, Destiny of Fire, Cities of the Flesh, and Catherine the Great, a Literary Guild selection. In The Crusades, Zoe Oldenbourg returned to the Middle Ages she knew and loved so well.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-born French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
historian and novelist who specialized in mediæval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
French history
History of France
The history of France goes back to the arrival of the earliest human being in what is now France. Members of the genus Homo entered the area hundreds of thousands years ago, while the first modern Homo sapiens, the Cro-Magnons, arrived around 40,000 years ago...
, in particular the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
and Cathars.
Life
She was born in Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
into a family of scholars and historians. Her father Sergei was a journalist and historian, her mother Ada Starynkevich was a mathematician, and her grandfather Sergei
Sergey Oldenburg
Sergey Fyodorovich Oldenburg was a Russian orientalist who specialized in Buddhist studies. He is remembered as the founder of Russian Indology and the teacher of Fyodor Shcherbatskoy....
was the permanent secretary of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
in Saint Petersburg. Her early childhood was spent among the privations of the Russian revolutionary period
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
and the first years of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. Her father fled the country and established himself as a journalist in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
With her family, she emigrated to Paris in 1925 at the age of nine and graduated from the Lycée Molière in 1934 with her Baccalauréat
Baccalauréat
The baccalauréat , often known in France colloquially as le bac, is an academic qualification which French and international students take at the end of the lycée . It was introduced by Napoleon I in 1808. It is the main diploma required to pursue university studies...
diploma. She went on to study at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
and then she studied painting at the Académie Ranson
Académie Ranson
The Académie Ranson was founded in Paris by the French painter Paul Ranson , who himself studied at the Académie Julian, in 1908.- History :...
. In 1938 she spent a year in England and studied theology. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
she supported herself by hand-painting scarves.
She was encouraged by her father to write and she completed her first work, a novel, Argiles et cendres in 1946. Although she wrote her first works in Russian, as an adult she wrote almost exclusively in French.
She married Heinric Idalovici in 1948 and had two children, Olaf and Marie-Agathe.
Work
She combined a genius for scholarship and a deep feeling for the Middle Ages in her historical novels. The World is Not Enough, a vast panorama of the twelfth century immediately put her in the ranks of the foremost historical novelists. Her second, The Cornerstone, won her the Prix FeminaPrix Femina
The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine La Vie heureuse . The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury, although the authors of the winning works do not have to be women...
and was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection in America. Other works include The Awakened, The Chains of Love, Massacre at Montsegur, Destiny of Fire, Cities of the Flesh, and Catherine the Great, a Literary Guild selection. In The Crusades, Zoe Oldenbourg returned to the Middle Ages she knew and loved so well.
List of works
- Argile et Cendres (1946), published in English as The World is Not Enough (translated by Willard A. Trask).
- La Pierre Angulaire (1953), published in English as The Cornerstone (translated by Edward HyamsEdward HyamsEdward Hyams was a British writer. Works included Soil and Civilisation, a biography of Proudhon, and Terrorists and Terrorism.He won a prize for his translation of Joan of Arc By Herself and Her Witnesses.- External links :*...
). - Réveillés de la vie (1956).
- Les irréductibles: roman (1958).
- Le Bûcher de Montségur (1959), non-fiction, published in English as Massacre at Montségur: A History of the Albigensian CrusadeAlbigensian CrusadeThe Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc...
(translated by Peter GreenPeter Green (historian)Peter Green is a British classical scholar noted for his works on Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age of ancient history, generally regarded as spanning the era from the death of Alexander in 323 BC up to either the date of the Battle of Actium or the death of Augustus in 14 AD...
). - Les Brûlés (1960), published in English as Destiny of Fire (translated by Peter GreenPeter Green (historian)Peter Green is a British classical scholar noted for his works on Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age of ancient history, generally regarded as spanning the era from the death of Alexander in 323 BC up to either the date of the Battle of Actium or the death of Augustus in 14 AD...
). - Les Cités Charnelles: ou, l'Histoire de Roger de Montbrun: roman (1961), published in English as Cities of the flesh: or, The story of Roger de Montbrun (Translated by Anne Carter).
- Les Croisades (1965), non-fiction, published in English as The Crusades (translated by Anne Carter).
- Catherine de Russie (1966), published in English as Catherine the Great (translated by Anne Carter).
- La Joie des Pauvres (1970), published in English as The Heirs of the Kingdom (translated by Anne Carter).
- Saint Bernard. Textes de Saint Bernard, Abélard, Pierre le Vénérable, Geoffroi de Clairvaux, Bérenger de Poitiers, Bossuet (1970).
- Que vous a donc fait Israël? (1974).
- Visages d'un Autoportrait (1977).
- La joie-souffrance (1980).
- Le Procès du Rêve (1982).
- L'eveque et la vieille dame, ou, La belle-mere de Peytavi Borsier: Pièce en dix tableaux et un prologue (1983)
- Que nous est Hécube?, ou, Un plaidoyer pour l'humain : essai (1984)
- Les amours égarées: roman (1987).
- Déguisements: nouvelles (1989).
- Aliénor: pièce en quatre tableaux (1992)
Further reading
- Steinberg, Theodore L., "The Use and Abuse of Medieval History: Four Contemporary Novelists and the First Crusade", Studies in Medievalism, II.1 (Fall 1982), pp. 77–93.
- Wilson, Katharina M., (editor), An Encyclopedia of continental women writers, New York : Garland Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-8240-8547-7. Cf. entry for Zoé Oldenbourg, Volume 1, pp.935-937.